


Loyalty

by Jathis



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 10:14:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4097116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I was dissatisfied with the lack of a rescue attempt for Arcade</p>
            </blockquote>





	Loyalty

Loyalty; it was one of the biggest rules of being 1st Recon, bigger than being a steady hand with a rifle and bigger than being able to snipe some scumbag in the eye without them ever seeing you. It was what tied them all together and it meant that they would always help one of their own when they needed it the most.  
  
When Boone walked into their tent after the battle at Hoover Dam; everyone knew almost automatically what it was about and a look was shared between them all. They had heard about the arrest the Rangers had made almost immediately after the battle…that a member of the Enclave in armor had been fighting alongside them and been arrested for war crimes because of what he was. It was all by the book and legal in the NCR’s book.  
  
Boone however kept his face as expressionless as always as they looked at him, his voice sharp and clipped as his heart raced inside of his chest. “They took him.” He said simply. “I don’t care what he is. He was on my team and he helped us take back the Dam and push those Legion fuckers out of the Mojave for good with his family. Those idiots over in California can’t have him.”  
  
“B-b-b-but…” Ten of Spades blushed under his scarf as everyone looked at him and after a moment’s hesitation he continued. “Boone, if we d-d-d-did that..!”  
  
“We’d be branded as fugitives and hunted down too.” Betsy sniffed.  
  
“Like anyone would be able to catch us if they did try.” Bitter-Root snorted, making the only woman of their team shoot him a glare. Gorobets shook his head, offering Boone an apologetic look of sympathy.  
  
“We’re headed back to California, Boone. We can’t risk it all for one man; especially someone from the Enclave.” Boone however refused to be swayed and he looked at Gorobets over his shades.  
  
“He helped you take out Driver Nephi.” He reminded him.  
  
“Yes, well…”  
  
“He diagnosed Betsy’s problem and got her to get help.” Betsy blushed a little at that, struggling to hide it under her usual scowl.  
  
“Boone…”  
  
“He made up some pain medication for Sterling’s hands and feet.”  
  
“That stuff does wonders on my joints.” The corporal agreed, looking at Gorobets with a raised eyebrow. The lieutenant shook his head, placing his hands on his hips as he looked back at his team.  
  
“Fine. We’ll take a vote on it.” he sighed, giving in. “Who says we go home and who says we leave the NCR and help an Enclave member get away from the Rangers?”  
  
“I n-n-n-n-never liked those fuckers. Always acting so t-t-t-t-tough.” Ten of Spades huffed and Sterling laughed and ruffled their youngest member’s hair.  
  
“You’re lucky I don’t miss any of them, kid.” The former Ranger reminded him.  
  
“Shooting at some of our own…this should be right up your alley, Bitter-Root.” Betsy noted.  
  
“Fuck you too, bitch.”  
  
“You wish.”  
  
***  
  
A million thoughts ran through his head; most of them on the idea of betrayal and being stabbed in the back by the ones he thought were his friends. After the battle of Hoover Dam he had not thought anything of it when some Rangers walked towards him. He had thought they were merely going to comment on his and the Remnants’ help…instead they immediately attacked him and he was too surprised to fight back and was subdued and disarmed easily.  
  
No one tried to help him. The Courier simply walked away and one by one the others left him at the hands of the Rangers and the NCR. He suspected that Grandma Lily would have done something if she could but the Nightkin had suffered a psychological breakdown during the battle and the Ghoul Raul was trying to calm her down while he was dragged onto the back of a wagon, the familiar insults and threats he had been warned about ringing in his ears.  
  
They were taking him to Camp Forlorn Hope…where a man could end up tortured and dead and the blame would fall squarely on the shoulders on rogue Legion soldiers that had escaped or been left behind. One of the Rangers had actually told him this and he was glad that the Remnants had been able to escape with the Boomers immediately after the battle.  
  
Arcade felt incredibly small and frail without his father’s armor on. They had stripped him down to his boxers to make sure he was not hiding any weapons and his wrists and ankles were tied painfully tight. He couldn’t help but watch as a red ring slowly grew around his ankles and he knew that when they forced him to walk he would most likely fall throughout the entire ordeal, something he knew the Rangers would be quick to punish him for.  
  
“I can’t believe how scrawny he is under all that fucking power armor!” one of the Rangers, a man named Dobson noted, tilting his head to one side as he looked at Arcade curiously, acting as if the man were an odd looking creature.  
  
“I pride myself on being incredibly scrawny.” Arcade said dryly and he was rewarded with a sharp blow to the jaw with the butt of a rifle from another Ranger.  
  
“Shut up, Enclave fuck face! You’ll have plenty of time to talk at the camp!”  
  
“Did you really have to hit him?” Dobson asked with a frown. The Ranger, a man named Jackson curled his lip, spitting at Arcade before turning back to Dobson.  
  
“Are you fucking shitting me? You feeling bad for this Enclave son of a bitch? Do you even know WHY we’re taking him to Camp Forlorn Hope?”  
  
“Well…he needs to be interrogated!”  
  
“And HOW do you think they’re gonna do it?” Dobson thought about this for a moment, stroking his sideburns before his eyes suddenly widened and he looked at Jackson in surprise.  
  
“They’re gonna torture him?!”  
  
“Bingo.”  
  
“But…that’s against the rules! We’re not supposed to torture war prisoners!”  
  
“Son, there’s a whole set of alternate rules when it comes to his kind.”  
  
“There are?”  
  
“Oh yes,” Arcade suddenly cut in, ignoring the glare Jackson was giving him. “you see…I enjoy drinking the blood of newborn babies born into the NCR or the Brotherhood so they need to treat me like a…” Another blow to the jaw with the rifle butt forced him to fall silent and as his mouth filled with blood he could feel that some of his teeth had been loosened up in the process.  
  
“Do they really drink baby blood?!” Dobson yelped and Jackson shot him a look.  
  
“Dobson, you’re a fucking idi…”  
  
The three men inside of the wagon jerked violently as it came to a sudden stop and Jackson swore loudly as the sound of gunfire erupted outside. “We’re under attack! You! Keep an eye on the fucker so he doesn’t escape!” he ordered, drawing his pistol before leaping outside to see what was wrong.  
  
Dobson paled a little but he nodded his head, looking over at Arcade. “Are you going to try and escape?”  
  
“Oh yes, with my ankles and hands tied up like this I am most assuredly going to try and make my escape.” Arcade sighed. Dobson immediately looked nervous and Arcade gave him a look over his glasses. “That means ‘no’.”  
  
“Oh good.” The Ranger said, breathing a sigh of relief.  
  
“…They were desperate when they enlisted you weren’t they?”  
  
“Desperate for what?”  
  
“Nevermind.”  
  
Both men looked up as Jackson poked his head back inside. “I have no idea what’s going on! The Brahmin, the two drivers, and the six armed fucking soldiers that were standing guard are dead but I don’t see any sign of their attackers! It’s like they were attacked by fucking ghosts or something!”  
  
“Maybe it was snipers!” Dobson suddenly suggested and Arcade’s eyes widened, staring at the Ranger in disbelief.  
  
It couldn’t be…he wouldn’t be so stupid!  
  
“You idiot! The Legion doesn’t have any sni..!” The top of Jackson’s head erupted in a shower of gore and skull fragments and Dobson yelped in surprise, drawing his pistol as the body was pulled away from the wagon and the curtains were yanked off, filling it with a light that blinded Arcade for a moment, making it hard for him to see who was standing there.  
  
“You..!”  
  
“Don’t even try it, kid. Just put the pistol down and move away from your prisoner,” a familiar voice ordered. Slowly Arcade’s vision came back to him and his eyes widened as Boone stepped inside, his rifle slung over his shoulder.  
  
“1st Recon?” Dobson asked in disbelief. “What are you..?”  
  
“It wasn’t 1st Recon.” Boone suddenly said, working on untying Arcade’s ankles.  
  
“It…what?” Dobson asked.  
  
“It was some Legion soldiers that had been left behind.” Boone said, helping Arcade onto his feet gingerly, letting the blonde take the time to get the blood circulating again. The young Ranger thought about this story for a moment, using one finger to pick at his lower lip before finally nodding his head in agreement, offering Boone a smile as he laughed aloud, realizing that this was the same story the NCR had been ready to use to explain Arcade’s death to their superiors.  
  
“Right! It was Le..!” Boone’s rifle butt broke Dobson’s nose with a sharp crunch and the Ranger fell to the ground in a heap.  
  
“Exactly.” Boone nodded, turning back to Arcade. “You ok? Can you walk?”  
  
“I cannot believe you did this on your own.” Arcade said with a shake of his head, offering Boone a small grateful smile. “Boone…”  
  
“I didn’t do it on my own.” Boone corrected him, helping him out of the wagon slowly. Arcade blinked in surprise, his eyebrows raised as he saw the five snipers standing before them. “I brought my old team to help.”  
  
“I…wow…What…what do we do now?” he asked, looking at Boone. “You’re all fugitives too!”  
  
“I asked Veronica if she could hook us up with something.” Boone explained.  
  
“Turns out the Brotherhood saw what the Rangers did and got pissed off.” Bitter-Root snickered. “They’re not under that weird ass lockdown any more but…they’re not friendly with NCR either!”  
  
“Veronica had a talk with Nolan and he’s promised us a safe place in their bunker as long as we help them from time to time dealing with anyone who tries to take it from them.” Boone added.  
  
“It’s g-g-g-g-going to be awesome!” Ten of Spades laughed and Betsy rolled her eyes, rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers.  
  
“The Followers are safe.” Boone added, offering Arcade a rare small smile. “No one’s connected them with you.” Arcade smiled slowly and he nodded his head, leaning against Boone for more support.  
  
“Thank you, Craig.” He sighed. Boone however just shrugged it away, motioning for Ten of Spades to help him with Arcade.  
  
“It’s what comrades in arms are for.”  
  
“K-k-k-k-kicking ass together and staying l-l-l-loyal!”


End file.
